Washing machine



1,653,321 C. D. SWETT WASHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 1, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l lll/lll', {l/ v Dec. 20, 1927.

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W HHIH Dec. 20, 1927., 1,653,321 A c. D. swr-:TT

WASHING MACHINE Filed OQC'- l. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 t be 'washed in sai Patented Dec. 20, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cAswELi. D. swnr'r, oF `sAN FRANCIsCo, CALIFoRNIA, AssICNoR rro FRANK J. LAsAR,

' oF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

WASHING MACHINE.

Application led October 1, 1925. Serial No. 59,873.

My invention relates to improvements fin washing machines wherein driving mechanism is mounted upon a brackety secured upon a wall adjacentan ordinary stationary 6 wash tray and arranged to actuate an agitating and washin memberto washclothes and the like in saiv tray.

f The primary object of my invention 1s to provide an Aimproved washing machine mech- 10 anism.

Another ob'ect is to rovide an improved vmechanism w ich is a apted to be secured directly upon a wall adjacent an ordinary wash tray whereb clothes and the like may tray without requlring a separate tub or the like. c A

A further object is to provide an improved mechanism which willfnot take up ioor space and which may be easily installe A still further object is to provide an improved mechanism provided with an 1mproved agitating element so constructed that a reciprocating movement of the element in the washing lliquid will cause a rotary movement of said element within a wash tray.

Another object is to provide an improved motor driven washing and wringingmechanism adapted to be operated independently or simultaneously in either direction.

A still further object is to provide an lm proved article of manufacture of the character described and embodying improved details of construction and arrangement obtaining an improved mechanism which will give increased efficiency in operation and which:

will facilitate manufacture and obtainV increased economy in manufacture and use.

I accomplish these and other objects by means of the improved construction and arrangement disclosed in the drawings forming a part of the present specification wherein like characters oi reference are used to designate similar parts throughout said specification and drawings and in which,

Fig. l is a broken front elevation of my improved washing mechanism as installed in connection with a wash tray.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the mechanism.

Fig. 3 is Va'transverse section showing a plan of the agitating element. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail', drawn upon a larger scale, showing the wringer clutch.

5 is a broken sectional detail showing the construction of the agitating element.

Referring tothe drawings the numeral 1 is used to designate in general a mounting bracket and housing arranged to be secured by suitable securing elements 2 upona wall immediately in back of and above awash tray 3 of the ordinary stationary type.

A motor. 4 is mounted upon a lateral extension 6 formed upon the mounting bracket l, said motor being provided with a shaft 7 having a worm'v gear 8 secured thereon.v A gear 9 is rotatably mounted within the bracket 1 upon a shaft 10 and arranged in meshing relation with the worm 8. The gear .9 is enclosed within a chamber 11 formed within the bracket 1 by means of a vplate 12, said chamber being arranged to be partially filled with oil or the like, the gear 9 being thereby caused to run in oil, to obtain a quiet operation and to prolong the life of the gear and worm.

A crank 13 is secured upon a lrearwardly vextending portion of the shaft 10, said crank being substantially enclosed Awithin the back of the bracket mounting member 1. T he crank 13 is connected by means of a connecting rod 14 to a cross-head v16 mounted between guides 17 secured within thelower portion of the bracket member 1, said crosshead having an arm 18 formed upon the front thereofand arranged to extend outwardly through a slot 19 formed in the front of the bracket member 1. The arm 18 is provided with an extension 21 formed upon the outer end thereof and arranged at substantially right angles thereto, said extension having a slot 22 and a pair of vertically disposed parallel grooves 23 formed therein.

An adjustable mounting arm 24 is mounted upon the outer end of `the arm 18 and the extension 21 thereof, said arm' 24 being provided with a slot 26 karranged to engage a securing member 27 which extends through the slot 22 in the extension 21. A pair of ribs 28 are formed upon the arm 24 and arranged to engage the grooves 23 to define the position of sai arm 24 with respect to the arm 18 and to maintain the alinement of the arms 18 and 24 when secured by the member 27 The vertical slot 22 permits the arm 24 i to be adjusted vertically with respect to the explained. The slot 22 facilitates the re- -moval of the arm 24 from the arm 18, a

` loosening of the securing member`2r being means of suitable set screws or the likewhereby the rod may be secured in desired vertical adjustment with respect to the arm 24 and held in rotatable engagement therewith. v

An agitating and washing member is secured upon thelower end of the rod 32, said member consisting of a plurality of downwardly facingcups 34 secured to a mounting sleeve 36 by means ofzvanes 37 In my preferred construction illustrated in the drawings, I provide three cups 34 arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis of the sleeve 36, and the vanes are arranged at a slight-angle to the sleeve 36 and to the vertical axis of the cup as best shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, for a purpose hereinafter more fully explained.

An extension 41 is formed upon the front of the bracket member 1, said extension being inclined so that the lowerend of the extensionwill normally be disposed substantially over the edge of the wash tray 3. A' wringer is secured upon the lower end of the extension 41, said wringer consisting of the usual rollers 42 mounted upon a suitable frame designated in general by the numeral 43. One of the rollers 42 is driven by a shaft 44 upon which is mounted a sprocket 46 arranged to engage a chain 47 passing over said sprocket and a. driving sprocket 48 vmounted adjacent the forward end of the shaft 10 the other roller being driven from said roller by means of suitable gears 49. The extension 41is arranged to substantially enclose the driving connections to the wringer, and to form a rigid support for the wringer whereby .the same may be held rigidly in a position above the edge of the` tray 3. The sprocket 48 is mounted in connection with a clutch member 51 slidably mounted upon the end of the shaft' 10 and having a recess 52 formed in forward edge thereof and arranged to engage a pin 53 secured adjacentl the ends of the shaft 10. The clutch meml ber 51 isarra-nged to be moved by means of a yoke 54 engaging a groove 56 formed upon the outer surface ofthe clutch member '51, said yoke being carried by a member 5'( extending outwardly through the front of the housing 1 and provided with a handle 58 whereby the member and yoke may be moved to cause the clutch member to engage or disengage the pin 53 as desired.

A reversing switch 59 is mounted upon the front of the member 1 and electrically connected t0 the motor 4 and the source of current by which it is driven by any suitable electrical connections, not shown, said switch being arranged to reverse the direction of the flow of electricity through thel motor and thereby reverse the direction of rotation of said motor inthe well known manner whereby said motor andthe mechanism driven thereby may be caused to operate in a desired direction. v

In operation, the bracket isrigidly mounted upon the wall immediately above the wash tray 3l in a position such that the wringer will be positioned immediately above the edge of the tray and the agitating cups 34 will be substantially centered with respect to said tray. The agitating element is adjusted -to various sizes of trays by connecting the rod 32 through the pair of apertures 31 most suitedto the size of the particular tray. The agitating element is then adjusted vertically to a desired position by moving the rod 32 through the collar 33 to the desired position and then securing the collar rigidly upon the shaft by means of the set screws 35.

When the` washing solution and the clothes to be washed have been placed in the tray 3, the motor 4 is started, the gear being rotated and caused to reciprocate the cross-head 16 through the crank 13 and connecting rod 14. As the cross-head 16 is reciprocated, the agitating element is moved alternately up land down within the tray 3, the cu s 34 causing the solution to .be moved throng the clot-hes by pressure and by suction in the well known manner. The movement of the agitating element within the solution causes a pressure to be exerted upon the inclined surfaces of the vanes 37 whereby each vane will act to impart a rotative movement of lthe agitating element within the tray, the

inclination of the vanes being arranged at such an angle that each time the agit-ating element is moved up and down in the solution the element will be rotated through a few degrees and thus cause the cups 34 to descend upon slightly different portions of the clothes during each succeeding downward movement. The action of the agitating element may of course be continued through any desired period to effect a thorough cleaning of the clothes.

When it is desired to operate the wringer, the yoke 54`is moved outwardly vto carry the -recess 52' into engagement with the pin 53 thereby causing the sprocket 48 to be rotated with the shaft 10 to drive the wringer.

The direction of lrotation of the wringer rolls depends upon the direction in which y Vthe motoi` is driven. To reverse the direcelement.

After the agitating element has been initially adjusted, the element is readily removed byV loosening the securing element 27 suliciently to permit the ribs 28 to be movedout of engagement with the grooves 23 and the arm 24Imoved outwardly to carry the slot 26.

out of engagement with the securing element. A bolt having a wing nut forms a convenient securing member facilitating the placing and removal of the arm 24 and the agitating element.

The specific details of construction are of course subject to modification in numer-v ous ways without departing from the spirit of.my invention. I therefore do not wish to restrict myself to such-details, but wish to avail myself of such modifications as may/fall within the scope of the appended claims.V f 4 Having thus described my invention what I claim as new' and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In a washing machine, an agitating element consisting of a plurality of downwardly faced cups, -a common mounting,` and vanes connecting the cups to the mounting, said vanes being inclined at an angle adapted to impart .ay rotative movement to fthe agitating element when the same is reciprocated within a washing tamed' in the tray.

2. A mounting bracket arranged to beA secured upon a wall above a wash tray; a crosssolution con- Ahead'slidably mounted upon the bracket;

outwardly extending arm adjustably washing machine comprising a means for reciprocating the cross-head; al

an detachably connected to the cross-head, said arm being provided with bifurcations formed upon its outer end and having a plurality o pairs of apertures formed therein; and an agitating element arranged to be mounted in connection with' the arm through any desired pair of said apertures to vary the distance between said element and the wall. 3." A washing l machine comprising a mounting bracket arranged to be secured upon a wall above a wash tray; a cross-head slidably mounted upon the bracket; means for reciprocating the cross-head; an outwardly extending arm adjustably and detachably connected to the cross-head said arm being provided with bifurcations formed upon its outer end and having a lurality o pairs ofv apertures formed in said bifurcations; and an agitating element arranged to be mountedv in connection with the arm,

said agitating element consisting of a rod adapted to be inserted through any desired pair of apertures in the arm and provided with a collar adjustably secured upon the rod and enga ed between the bifurcations to rigidly ho d said rod in engagement therewith, and a plurality of downwardly faced cups mounted in connection with the rod and arranged to be reciprocated thereby Within the tray.l

4. In a washing machine, an agitating element consisting of a' rod; a mounting element secured upon the rod, a plurality. of downwardly faced cups, and vanes connecting the cups to the mounting element, said vanes being inclined .at an angleadapted to impart a rotative movement to the agitating element when the same is reciprocated within a washing solution contained in the tray. y

' In witness whereof I hereunto set my signature.

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